September 29, 2012

Typically read in Grade 5, Maniac Magee, winner of the 1990 Newbery Medal, tells the story of Jeffrey Lionel Magee.
Orphaned at the age of three and enduring misery with his aunt and uncle until he runs away, Jeffrey"settles" in the town of Two Mills, a town racially divided between the predominantly black East End and the white West End. By virtue of his incredible athleticism and extraordinary feats of compassion and bravery, Jeffrey makes both friends and enemies, earning himself the moniker of "Maniac." Always looking for a place to call home, Jeffrey bounces from one temporary home to another, on both sides of town, trying to keep the part of him that is Jeffrey Magee.

Two prevalent themes in Maniac Magee are:

homelessness; and

discrimination.

The following youngCanLit all include storylines involving homeless persons and discrimination, based on race or other attributes. Each would serve well as updated and alternative novels to Maniac Magee. For each, I have looked at the two themes emphasized in Maniac Magee in terms of the youngCanLit selections.

• Homelessness: Thirteen-year-old Heck finds himself alone on the street after he and his mom are evicted from their apartment and she takes off.

• Discrimination: Heck denies to himself that his mother has a mental illness, instead pretending that he is a superhero and that all is well. Heck's subsequent friendship with Marion, a mentally-ill boy, makes him realize that he cannot and must not ignore the nature of his mother's illness.I Am a Taxi
by Deborah Ellis
Groundwood Books
205 pp.
Ages 10-13
2006

• Homelessness:Twelve-year-old Diego lives with his Mamá and 3-year-old
sister Corina in the San Sebastian Jail for Women in Cochabamba, Bolivia after coca paste, used to make cocaine, was found under their seats on a public bus. Diego runs away with the aim of making money for his family but ends up homeless and far away from them.
• Discrimination: The people of Bolivia who consider the leaves of the coca as having cultural and sacred importance are discriminated against by the authorities who criminalize all those involved with the coca plants.

• Homelessness: When her mother goes missing, Regan finds herself scrounging for food and staying under the radar of the authorities. She finds help amongst the homeless in a tent city and a street busker who looks out for her, sharing his squat and limited resources.

• Discrimination: Though apprehensive of the homeless, Regan finds herself leaning on them for help and seeing beyond their lack of houses.

• Homelessness: Eleven-year-old Khyber who lives with her mom and autistic twin brothers in Toronto's Regent Park befriends a homeless woman, X, who becomes her alibi.

• Discrimination: As Khyber lives in poverty with her mother, a former stripper, and her two autistic brothers, she has had to endure much taunting, but being accused of vandalism forces her to stand up for herself and look for a way to clear her name.

The Maestro
by Tim Wynne-Jones
Groundwood Books
223 pp.
Ages 10+
1995, 2004
• Homelessness: After running away from his abusive father, Burl heads to the wilderness for relief and a home. Ultimately though, he needs shelter and food and finds it with an eccentric maestro. Even after the Maestro returns to the city, Burl looks for a way to keep himself from becoming homeless again.

• Discrimination: Although the discrimination in The Maestro is not significant, seen only in the Maestro's reluctance to take Burl in, preferring his solitude, and Burl unable to trust anyone with his secrets, the perceived inadequacies of the characters' by others could be seen as discriminatory. And I really wanted to include this award-winning book (Governor General's Award for Children's Literature; Canadian Library Association's Book of the Year for Children Award) in this list!

• Homelessness: When Sydney, 12, and her brother Turk, 9, find the farm they've run away to gone and replaced by a housing development, the Royal Woods, they find innovative ways to meet their needs for shelter, food and such.

• Discrimination: Although they find friendship and assistance from Shep McPharlain, an unusual homeless man, and Kumar, a kind illegal immigrant, not everyone sees the goodness in the group, including some locals and the Royal Woods Love, Friendship and Improvement committee!

Sketches
by Eric Walters
Puffin Canada
226 pp.
Ages 12-16
2007

• Homelessness: Fourteen-year-old Dana leaves an abusive home situation and ends up on the streets of Toronto, eventually teaming up with other homeless youths and finding some safety at Sketches, an art drop-in centre.

• Discrimination: The street youth are often "seen" in terms of their homelessness, even by Dana at first, instead of their capabilities or intentions.A Tinfoil Sky
by Cyndi Sand-Eveland
Tundra Books
216 pp.
Ages 11-14
2012

• Homelessness: Mel is only twelve but she has endured an entire life of bouncing from homelessness to minimal housing, and even the promise by her mother that they are finally going home proves uncertain when Mel's grandmother refuses to take them in and Mel's mother leaves.

• Discrimination: Regardless of Mel's mature and caring nature with regards to their situation, her grandmother judges her daughter and granddaughter through her anger and disappointment, rather than what is in evidence.

Additional books that may be used, depending on your students' reading and interest levels, include:

September 25, 2012

Yep, under the hat is a story. First it's under Mr. Zinger's Hat, the hat that old Mr. Zinger wears when he walks around the courtyard making up stories that he publishes. And Leo's mom always tells him not to disturb Mr. Zinger when he is thinking. But when Mr. Zinger's hat gets carried off by Leo's errant ball and then miraculously lands on Leo's head, they look inside the hat for some explanation.

As Mr. Zinger looks within his hat, he prompts Leo to share details about the story trying to get out: the character, his problem, what he does to solve it, and finally the ending. Leo is very eager to help fill in the blanks of the story within the hat, and he seems to have all the answers, as well as a fertile imagination! Ah, the sights that can be imagined and the sounds that can be heard from that hat are astounding. When Mr. Zinger declares it is time to return to his desk, he vows that he will not write down that story, as it belongs to Leo. Subsequently when Leo finds a new playmate, he tells her of a story inside his baseball cap, allowing her to help provide the details this time.

The magic of discovering a story from within - within a hat, within a heart, within one's imagination - is extraordinarily fulfilling, as Mr. Zinger knows, sharing that knowledge with Leo, who in turn shares with Sophie. There is no pulling or prodding to reveal the story; the story is naturally drawn out, as natural as a conversation in one's imagination. Cary Fagan has Mr. Zinger effortlessly converse with Leo as if they were old friends - no judgements, no manipulations, no expectations. And the story comes as it comes and it is real and relevant and inspiring. Mr. Zinger becomes the iconic storyteller (looking and sounding all too similar to Canadian children's author and storyteller, Aubrey Davis!), surprised and impressed with his own story, and sharing that astonishment with his listeners. How could Leo help but be mesmerized?

Award-winning illustrator Dušan Petričić, who has collaborated with Cary Fagan on several picture books including My New Shirt (Tundra, 2007) and Jacob Two-Two on the High Seas (Tundra, 2009), does profound credit to Cary Fagan's story, capturing Leo's awe with the light touch of one who knows this boy well. I fully expect to see Leo playing ball outside the local school in the city. Readers may notice that when Leo is formulating his story (from Mr. Zinger's hat), Dušan Petričić's illustrations change from his rich, highly-textured water-coloured images to the simple, two-dimensional drawings of a less sophisticated artist, say a child. Obviously Dušan Petričić also knows whose story it is and is able to help young readers see it as well.

I may have found Mr. Zinger's Hat on a shelf, not under a brim, but I am absolutely delighted that Cary Fagan was able to see beneath some hat and then invite Dušan Petričić to use his high-powered vision to discern the textures, colours and shapes that must have lain hidden within as well. That's some special headgear and insight, as special as Mr. Zinger's Hat.

September 24, 2012

Norah McClintock, three-time Arthur Ellis award-winning author for Best Juvenile Crime Book, surprising treats readers with this first foray into historical fiction. However, this should not be surprising as Norah McClintock graduated with a degree in history from McGill University and shows great skill in bringing the past in Dear Canada's newest title, A Sea of Sorrows, to reside comfortably amongst her more contemporary award-winning volumes.

A Sea of Sorrow follows the story of thirteen-year-old Johanna Leary and her family from the blight-ravaged potato fields of Ireland to Canada in 1847. Sorrows will plague the Learys, Ma, Da, fourteen-year-old Michael, Johanna and baby Patrick, each step and nautical mile of their journey from the hunger and poverty of their homeland to the farm of Da's brother, Liam, in the New World. From their long walk to Dublin to catch a steamer for Liverpool and then boarding the sailing ship for Canada, the journey is arduous, sorrowful and forlorn.

Although never recognized at the time, the ships carrying the Learys and other families became known as coffin ships for the rabid spread of cholera and typhus that claimed the lives of young and old alike. By the time the ship comes into the Gulf of the St. Lawrence, Johanna's family has lost little Patrick, and Connor Keenan, a young man who'd disguised himself as a girl to evade arrest for threatening and robbing some landlords, has lost his father, sister Colleen, and brother Kevin. But arriving in Canada does not lead to landing and disembarking in Canada, as the countless line of ships anchored in the harbour indicate. Those who are deemed ill, including Ma and Mrs. Keenan, are sent to the hospital on Grosse Isle. The others must remain on the ship in quarantine to contain the spread of the disease. Not surprising that during their days in quarantine, without fresh food or water, and waiting for medical inspection, even more people fall ill.

Following ten days in quarantine, only Da, Michael and Johanna with Connor and his little brother Daniel, are sent by steamer to Montreal. Again, the sorrows of separation and loss overtake the joys of officially arriving in Canada, as Da, who is ill, is taken away to the immigrant sheds, and Johanna and Daniel are taken with all the girls and youngest boys to an orphanage to be cared for by nuns.

And so, for the Learys, their new life in Canada alongside Uncle Liam has dissolved with each death and separation, just as it did for so many who travelled from Ireland at that time. The mass exodus contributed to the horrific conditions on board the ships, which in turn led to illness and death. Unfairly, the Irish immigrants were seen as bringing disease with them and became a spectacle and deemed worthy of prejudice and discrimination from the Canadians. Even their starvation was twisted to be indicative of laziness by some.

A Sea of Sorrows is not a happy story, although Norah McClintock's epilogue offers some tidbits of happiness for some characters. But, it is a dramatic glimpse into the ghastly situations many Irish immigrants experienced circa 1847, leaving one horrific situation of poverty, starvation and discrimination for another that offered a glimmer of hope but within similar circumstances. And Norah McClintock never sugar-coats Johanna's accounts, just as the girl would not have been able to do so; there was no sweetness to spare for her tale. As rotten as the potatoes they fled, many of the Learys' lives festered along with numerous of their countrymen, with only the occasional murphy or Leary able to survive, albeit scarred.

September 20, 2012

Lump, German for rascal, is a darling dachshund who lives with David, a photographer, in Rome. Unfortunately, there's also Big Dog who makes life less than pleasant for Lump. But, when David has to travel to the south of France to visit the artist Pablo Picasso, Lump is fortunate to find himself David's only companion.

At the villa, a big dog, Yan, wants to be friends with Lump, and even the goat, Esmerelda, is welcoming. But, Lump is especially drawn to the man with the strong, dark, warm eyes who affectionately calls him Lumpito. And Picasso, drawn to the little dog, treats him to belly rubs, shares treats from the dinner table, designs a special plate just for him, and proffers late night contemplations. Not surprising that, when Picasso hears that Lumpito is not happy at David's, the artist is delighted to make a home for Lumpito with his family.

Lumpito and the Painter from Spain is based on the true story of Picasso and the little dachshund who stole his heart, captured in the above photo by David Douglas Duncan, Lumpito's original care-giver. Just as Lumpito inspired Picasso (see the copy of Picasso's Le Chien below), Monica Kulling's text and Dean Griffith's illustrations inspire anyone in a difficult situation that there is hope for joy and devotion. Lumpito's eyes tell it all: they're bright, hopeful and kind. It's not surprising that Picasso found such an inspirational model in this little fellow, and it's so fortunate that Monica Kulling found this inspiring story and told it so simply and beautifully.

Children from 2 - 8 years of age are invited to enjoy an afternoon with the winner of the 2011 Governor General's Award for Children's Illustration and Small Print Toronto on a guided exploration around the library with follow-up activities

September 18, 2012

Lesley Livingston takes the fantasy reader back to the New York City of her Wondrous Strange series but veers off in another direction, now focusing on the Fennrys Wolf, the Janus Guard who'd made an extreme sacrifice at the conclusion of Tempestuous.

The Starling of the title is Mason Starling, a student and avid fencer at the venerable Gosforth Academy. Well-protected (or over-protected?) by her very wealthy father, Gunnar Starling, and eldest brother Rothgar, Mason suffers from debilitating claustrophobia, courtesy of a childhood prank played on her by her other brother, Rory, during a game of hide-and-seek in which she was locked in a shed for days. Rory is hardly the caring older brother that Roth is to Mason. And, sadly, Mason does not have the comfort of a mother, her own dying giving birth.

When Mason, Rory, and their fencing teammates at Gosforth Academy are attacked by horrible, mutable creatures during a violent storm that knocks out all power, a beautiful, naked blond man, who identifies himself as the Fennrys Wolf, comes to their aid. Beyond using his sword to fight off the creatures he calls draugr, saving the life of Calum Aristarchos, who is in love with Mason, and reassuring the claustrophobic Mason (when the group shelters itself in a cellar), the Fennrys Wolf has little to offer about himself. He knows a lot about the draugr and such, but he doesn't know how he knows it.

After Fennrys gathers some clothes from the group he's sedated with magick, he goes off in search of some answers. He is attacked by centaurs, crosses the East River over a bridge called Hell Gate to Dead Ground, and reconnects with Mason whose dark blue eyes continue to haunt and mesmerize him. Mason is similarly drawn to Fennrys. Together they piece together bits of Fennrys' memories, including finding his warehouse apartment and a cache of weapons, and practise fencing, with Mason using a sword which Fennrys gifts to her. Of course, there seem to be a lot of strange entities coming after them - draugr, fireballs, nixxies - but Fennrys is determined to keep Mason safe.

Meanwhile, through Rory who has secretly availed himself of his father's old diary, the reader learns that the Starlings had dedicated their lives to the service of the Norse gods, by vowing to help bring about Ragnarok, the catastrophic end of the world, and thus the return of the gods to the mortal realm. There are other clans, however, in service to the gods of Greek and
Celtic worlds, for example, who are just as happy to leave the mortal world
as is. But, the appearance of the Fennrys Wolf, who has walked between the mortal world and the Dead, is seen by some as a harbinger of the end or the means by which Ragnarok may begin. Sadly, unbeknownst to all, Rory who has learned to do magick is determined to follow the Starlings' destiny.

So, while Fennrys and Mason fall in love, he learns more of his tragic story and the plots to manipulate him, and she questions her choices and tries to resolve discrepancies between what she feels and what she is told. Ultimately, both Mason and Fennrys become pawns in a larger-than-life plot that could lead to the end of the world.

That synopsis doesn't even come close to the depth and layering of plots and characterizations in Starling. There's a sharp learning curve about mythological concepts from various civilizations that Lesley Livingston obviously is well versed in. When they all come together, both in conflict and in harmony, the result is a multi-layered story in which it's almost impossible to know in whom to trust. That would explain Mason's own confusion: a father who seems to love her; contemptuous and contemptible Rory but her brother just the same; Roth who the readers learn has a few secrets of his own, including an alliance with the servants of the Greek gods; Calum who wants to share with her his fears of the mer-people but blames her for his injuries; and Fennrys, to whom she is drawn and who seems to adore her but whose arrival has resulted in such mayhem.

I'm delighted that Lesley Livingston has chosen to re-introduce the Fennrys Wolf by way of his own series, especially after his heart-breaking ending in Tempestuous. And her innovative and rich melding of the Faery world with the realms of classic mythology is inspired. After all, many belief systems, including today's religions, have similar or identical premises upon which they are founded. With the addition of Mason and Fennrys' romance, sibling rivalries, peer relationships, and a classic good-versus-evil theme, Starling is that first burst of explosion at the onset of Ragnarok - it's startling, it's overwhelming, and it's just the beginning.

An additional video of Lesley Livingston recording the audio version of Starling at the CBC studios in Toronto demonstrates why listening to Lesley Livingston read her story is as much of a treat as reading it.

September 16, 2012

Anticipation for Orca's upcoming Seven The Series has been growing since first announced earlier in the year and its enticing book trailer released in February. If Ink Me, just one of the seven books set for simultaneous release on October 10, 2012, is any indicator, all young readers will be hooked instantly.

Bunny (a.k.a. Bernard) is just one of seven grandsons who, upon the death of their grandfather, receive a letter and instructions about a task to perform. At 15, Bunny is the youngest of the grandsons but he may be the most challenged, living with a mental disability. Regardless, Bunny is a very astute young man, understanding far more than many, even if Bunny believes that,

"they all reddy no Im a dummy." (pg. 3)

And Ink Me is all about how people, places, objects, situations - everything - are perceived and how these perceptions, right or wrong or misunderstood, affect everything else.Bunny's task is to go to a particular tattoo parlour where they have been instructed to give him a specific tattoo. The tattoo of the number 15 with a candle doesn't strike Bunny as anything special or too unusual; after all, he turned 15 on his most recent birthday. But, the reader soon realizes, even if Bunny does not, that the tattoo that he sports indicates that he is part of the 15 Street gang and that he has made one kill.When Bunny defends a skinny gang member, Jaden, from a beating by a member of a rival gang, the Angels, he is introduced to other members of 15 at the gym where they hang out. Being white, Bunny is an oddity amongst the gang but his tattoo and surprising knowledge, albeit naively, of gang members with whom 15 is making a deal, gives him some credibility. For the first time, Bunny is enjoying the camaraderie of friends, particularly Jaden. Moreover, Morgan, a former pro fighter who now runs the gym, recognizes that Bunny could be a great fighter, with his fast reflexes and the moves his grandfather had taught him, and Morgan starts training him.Although enjoying the benefits of his new friendships, Bunny also must withstand the negatives associated with being a part of 15, though he does not always recognize these drawbacks as such. Even after being hauled away with the gang by the police and interrogated about "the deal" and later chased and shot at by a rival gang, Bunny continues to see everything as a new experience and himself under the care of his friends. The line between the good guys and the bad guys continues to get blurred for Bunny as the deal between 15 and two other gangs is brokered.Richard Scrimger, one of my favourite Canadian authors, is brilliant at telling a story without any lessons creeping in to weigh down the plot; that is, until the last few pages of the book are turned. Readers will be too engrossed in the upshot of Bunny's honesty and incomprehension to realize that Ink Me exposes the vulnerability of perceptions to misinterpretation. Whether it be the tattoo that marks Bunny as a gang member, or Jaden acting one way but in reality being someone else, or how guns are bad except when they're useful, these matters are all vulnerable to mis-perception. Even Bunny's mom, a philosophy professor, has a hard time believing what Bunny tells her, instead reading situations as she chooses or as she is accustomed. Though writing as Bunny must have been an arduous task for Richard Scrimger, as the text is so laden with spelling and grammatical mistakes, the author provides a real example of the dangers of "misreading." I had to remind myself constantly that "no" in Bunny's text is "know" for me, and that I had to read carefully in order that I not let my prejudices alter the text's meaning. Ink Me is a brilliant story, less about gangs and tattoos than about our relationships with others and the roles misunderstanding and perspective play in securing or destroying the integrity of those connections.

September 14, 2012

Have you used your books to help you enhance your pirate vocabulary? Do you know how to swab the decks, walk the gangplank, and shiver m' timbers?

After reading any number of these great pirate adventures written by Canadians, you're sure to be ready when September 19th rolls around this year. And even if you're not into pirate mimicry, these books tell great yarns! Here we go, me matey!

The Island of Mad Scientists:Being
an Excursion to the Wilds of Scotland, Involving Many Marvels of
Experimental Invention, Pirates, a Heroic Cat, a Mechanical Man and a
Monkey: The Mad Misadventures of Emmaline and Rubberbones
by Howard Whitehorse
Illustrated by Bill Slavin
Kids Can Press
262 pp.
Ages 11-14
2008

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For our fortunate young readers:

You know Adderson and Bell,Chan, Carter and Cumyn,and Davis through Draper,Ellis, Fagan and Fitch,then Gay, Gilmore, Ghent,lead in Hartry and Hutchins,with Jennings and Jocelyn,come Korman and Lawrence,Don't forget Matas and Narsimhan,or Ohi and Oppel,also Peacock and Pignat,with Radford and Reid.And what of Scrimger and Slade,Skrypuch and Slavin,with Tankard and Wallace,and Wilson times five?Indeed,so many great authorsand so many moreReach into their wordsImaginations will soar.